Work-related Internet use as a threat to work-life balance – a comparison between the emerging on-line professions and traditional office work

Abstract

In the present study, the authors focused on the comparison of work characteristics related to the possibility of striking the right worknonwork balance, as well as satisfaction with the actual work-life balance (WLB), negative work-to-home conflict and the quality of life related to social relationships, between a new group of on-line workers (social media or e-marketing specialists, search engine optimization or search engine marketing specialists, e-public relations experts etc.) and traditional office workers. Material and Methods: The authors conducted a questionnaire study covering 189 on-line workers (whose work required permanent presence on-line) and 200 office workers (using the Internet mainly to communicate with other departments and to search for information). Results: The results showed that the on-line workers reported a significantly lower satisfaction with WLB and a higher negative work-home interaction. The authors found no differences as regards the social quality of life between the studied groups. Conclusions: These findings confirm that technology advancement opens a new chapter in organizational psychology and occupational health, especially in the context of the emerging on-line occupations.

Factors Associated With Work-Life Balance and Productivity Before and During Work From Home

“… 13 Young internet on-line workers, on the other hand, reported a significantly lower satisfaction with WLB and a higher negative work–home interaction because they spent more time at work. 14 The competing demands of work and family life can create stress and anxiety for some workers. Working from home blurs the boundaries between work and personal time.…”

Telework and Mental Health during COVID-19

“…It is possible that telework might impact mental health and the quality of life of workers, as shown before, but the strain of unemployment and layoff [ 30 ], as well as the stress of maintaining the usual on-site work during COVID-19 exposure fear [ 31 ], could impact mental health just as well. Notwithstanding, if we consider that teleworking is supported by the use of ICTs [ 27 ], and that excessive use of ICTs can impact mental health and the quality of life [ 17 ], we expect that those who stay at home in telework will feel more anxious [ 32 ] and will feel more burdened with work driven by the FoMO phenomenon [ 33 ]. Having said that, our main objective with this investigation was to analyze different work situations and the psychological experiences in times of social isolation, considering the impact that the excessive use of ICTs (associated to social isolation and telework) might generate on mental health and quality of life.…”

The association of work-related extended availability with recuperation, well-being, life domain balance and work: A meta-analysis

“…Third, we were limited with regard to the operationalization of potential boundary conditions. For instance, the attempt of operationalizing workload in this meta-analysis was via the number of work hours per employee, which is a simplistic operationalization of workload (Jahns, 1973 as cited in Fan & Smith, 2017). We consider it likely that these methodological issues play an important part in the majority of our moderator analyses not reaching significance.…”